>> welcome to the program. also a big welcome to the year 2013 which has just started in -- in parts of the world. it is the first major city in the world to see in the new year. auckland is 496 kilometers west of the international date line. as west as you can get. the fireworks going off in auckland at the start of 2013. the new year has already started elsewhere in the pacific.

in other news, at least 10 people have been killed in a series of explosions across iraq. dozens more wounded. kirkuk was among the cities targeted. seven people have died in bombings, all thought to be from the same family. iraq's prime minister, nouri al- maliki, is saying foreign countries are instigating sectarian division. more protests are expected in anbar province. they are demanding the release of sunni prisoners. tell us more about the explosions in iraq. who was targeted? a was carrying them out? -- who was carrying them out? >> we are getting conflicting reports about who the target was. the houses were demolished because of an improvised

explosive device. one house belongs to an iraqi police officer. the other two might have been used as a place where shia pilgrims rest on their journeys towards the police city of karbala -- holy city of karbala. there might be a sectarian element in these bombings. it is not confirmed yet. other reports of violence in different parts of iraq and the eastern area -- we understand there was a local tribal chief who was killed. also, a local official targeted in the other province. >> there has been increasing tax -- increasing sectarian tension. nouri al-maliki is blaming foreign countries for that. why is he saying that? >> he is saying it because of the protests that have been going on for the last 10 days in

difference in the areas. he did say that the protests started demanding the release of bodyguards of sunni prisoners. the demands were raised to topple the regime as well as having a sectarian nature on those protests. >> we may have differences with one another, but what relation does erdogan have in this? why is the flag raised? what relation does it have with the demands of the people? you can see the case of sectarian tensions and extensions. >> i'm wondering what kind of reaction that point will have amongst iraqis. they are not likely to stop their protests, are they?

>> no, they are not. i spoke to the spokesperson nominated by the protesters a few moments ago. he did say that he totally rejects being commands made by the prime minister -- comments made by the prime minister. he said their demands are not of a sectarian nature. they want an end to the marginalization of sydneys. -- sunnis. there is a sense of fear of repercussions for what is happening in syria, that violence may spill over into iraq. the prime minister was making reference to the turkish prime minister as well as the free syrian army. i sense there is some genuine fear among the iraqi officials, including the prime minister. finally, i think also there is

some element of trying to divert attention by making such remarks. >> thank you very much for that. now to the package of spending cuts and tax increases that are supposed to boost the economy. not everyone agrees. politicians are bickering over the details. there is just no consensus. with the deadline looming, they are supposed to have it sorted by january 1. we report from washington. >> sundown on capitol hill in washington d.c. -- washington, d.c., and senate majority leader comes to the microphones to send everyone home until early monday morning, no deal imminent. the mother is still significant difference, but negotiations->> -- >> there is still significant difference, but negotiations continue. >> republicans sought late-day

changes to social security in return for tax hikes on the rich. >> the consequences for this are too high for the american people to be engaged in a political messaging campaign. >> the social security move was met with this belief by democrats. so much so, they have no answer to it. >> at this stage, i do not have a counter offer. >> an attempt to broker a deal came up from as high as the vice president. of twoconfident that one things are going to happen when it comes to the fiscal clip. number one, we will see an agreement in the next 48 hours, in which case, middle-class taxes will not go up. if that does not happen, then democrats in the senate will put a bill on the floor of the senate and republicans will have to decide if they are going to block it, which will mean that middle-class taxes do go up. i don't think they would want to

do that, politically, but they may end up doing it. >> they may be deadlocked, but negotiations will continue throughout the night. >> the senate reconvenes on monday. the gap between the republicans and democrats in the senate is said to be as wide as ever. it could be a very long years eve in this town before a deal is ready to be voted on. >> what does that mean for the rest of the world if the u.s. fails to reach a deal? the u.s. is the world's largest economy, so it performance affects the other economies. -- so its performance affects the other economies. u.s. consumers will not have cash to spend on products from the big exporters. eu countries would be weekend in their fight against the financial crisis across the eurozone -- be weakened in

their fight against the financial crisis across the eurozone. one economist says it is likely that president obama will negotiate a temporary deal. >> the importance of the u.s. this cliff is extremely -- u.s. fiscal cliff is extremely high. the main growth engines are firstly china, which will grow at about 8%. the u.s. is still very important. we are expecting growth of about 2%. if the u.s. goes off of this book with and you have very weak growth, that will be a huge dent in the global outlook and will have transmission of sex to the rest of the global economy at that time when the eurozone is still in recession in japan has also slid into recession. the risk is that this negotiation process could be protracted. i think president obama is proposing the concept of a fallback option, which would at least deliver some of the

extension of the tax cuts and also unemployment benefits, which is very important. if the unemployment benefits cease after the first of january, that has an immediate impact on expenditure in the u.s. on about 2 million unemployed people. i think he is going to try to put together a skeleton deal to at least bridge the gap while negotiations continue. u.s. secretary of state -- >> u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton has been taken to hospital. she suffered a concussion earlier this month. she is being treated with blood thinning medication and she will be monitored for the next 48 hours. venezuela's ailing president has had a new health setback, suffering complications after surgery. vice president nicolas maduro made an unexpected trip to the capital of cuba, where president

chavez is receiving cancer treatment. >> 19 days after undergoing surgery, president chavez's health continues to be frail. it is a process not without risk. we have decided to stay in heaven for the next few hours, accompanying the commander and his- -- in havana for the next few hours, accompanying the commander and his family. >> instead of calming people down, it has worried people. they are wondering what will happen next and what surprised people the most is that they are staying in cuba. that raised a lot of questions. is anything else going to be announced in the coming days? what do the cuban doctors tell the vice president? will thomas come back on time for his inauguration on january

10? those are only some of the questions? -- questions. they are also worried about the political situation and the possibility of political instability if something were to happen to hugo chavez. instead of calming people, people have lots of uncertainty in this coming day. in a 22 men are on their way home after being held by somali pirates for nearly three years. >> tears of joy. >> the crew members were rescued by maritime police in an operation that lasted 15 days. there were originally 24 men taken hostage, but two died during captivity. they say they were subjected to severe beatings and torture. the men were from several countries. the president of the central african republic says he is ready to form a coalition government with rebels. he made the announcement after holding talks with the head of

the africans union -- afrikaans union. they say they will advance of the president does not leave the country. we have more. >> from a president under pressure, compromise and concession. he said he is prepared to share power with the rebels and would not stand for reelection in 2016. >> we will surely be able to put in place a national unity government to manage this country which has suffered so much. >> it may be taking its toll on the president. it has brought the capital to a nervous standstill. >> the government's curfew is not all bad. it is very unsafe here at the moment. >> rebel fighters keep

advancing. they took a turn on saturday, 150 kilometers from the capital. an attempt by government troops to retake the strategically- important town of bombari failed. the chairman of the african union arrived on sunday, urging an end to the fighting. the president said he is willing to attend without conditions. rebel spokesmen sounded more cautious, saying he took note of the president's latest offer, but the rebels do not want to join the government. earlier, they refused to rule out an advance on the capital and said that president

>> do not miss "american coup." >> welcome back.

let's remind a of the top stories. iraq's prime minister -- remind you of the top stories. iraq's prime minister -- a series of explosions have killed at least 10 people across iraq? -- iraq. democrats and republicans cannot agree on how to deal with the extensive spending cuts and tax rises. it could force the country back into recession. the president of the central african republic says he is ready to form a coalition government with the rebels. bozize made the announcement as fighters advanced closer to the capital. north korea's leader has congratulated scientists and technicians involved in the launch of a rocket. state television broadcast pictures of the ceremony. the launch of a long-range rocket put north korea's first satellite into orbit.

it also drew international condemnation from the u.s. and south korea. pakistan's hopes of hosting international cricket have suffered another major blow. security concerns led to the bangladesh national team pulling out of the tour of pakistan which had been scheduled for january. gunmen attacked the sri lankan team bus in lahore in 2009. the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman last week has led to national furor and sparked a debate about women's rights in the country. in a sexual crime has dominated the headlines in india for nearly two weeks, and not just the case of this 23-year-old victim.

rape, sexual abuse, and harassment are at the top of newscasts and on the front page of newspapers every day. local media have spare no expense to cover the protests sparked by the gang rape case. details of the rape and assault on the bus, as well as the student's losing fight for survival were broadcast and printed with up to the minute commentary, the type of commentary usually reserve for credit cards. c ricket -- for cricket coverage. >> this kind of thing surrounding the issue of sexual violence-it has been a huge wake-up call. i sense that this is a lot of emotion involved. this is not just another story. this is something that affects all of our lives the moment we step out of our doors. >> never before has one rape

case received so much attention. the government is under scrutiny. continuous coverage has been unprecedented across all media outlets. but it is as if india is suddenly waking up to the nightmare that thousands of women have been living with. over the past six years, reports of rape have increased by 25%, but it is an issue that is largely thrust under the carpet until now. the government is now being called to account. >> even if the attention goes away, you cannot change this moment. you cannot change the fact that it is in the news across the country. they will have to think hard before they dismiss the case of sexual violence as just another incident. >> whichever way it was covered, the shocking story of the rape of a young woman has started a discourse on the subject that was once taboo. it has made a country that prides itself as the world's biggest democracy ask some

tough questions about how half its population should be -- could be treated so shamefully. >> northern india is bearing the brunt of an unusual bout of cold weather. locals are starting to protect themselves -- struggling to protect themselves from the icy conditions. in afghanistan, refugees are facing freezing conditions in camps in kabul. the u.s. has stepped up distribution of supplies to some 5000 families. last year, some 30 people froze to death in the afghan camps. heavy snow has left some people dead and affected the lives of millions across the united states. in oregon, nine people were killed when s -- when a tour bus skidded off the side of a road and fell down a steep slope. families in a village in northern bolivia have raised

cattle for hundreds of years. in order to create areas for grazing, they destroyed a nearby forest. now they are taking part in a new project to try to reduce the impact on the environment. like many traditional farmers in bolivia, he used to burn down parts of the rain forest to create a pastor for his animals. now he is one of more than 200 villagers taking part in a pilot project run by oblivion nonprofit. it is designed to show farmers new ways to prevent further -- by a bolivian non-profit. >> it is also to preserve the environment. >> farmers use a new type of grass brought in from colombia. it allows more cows to graze on less land. with the old grass, only one cow could graze on each hectare.

now 40 cows can graze on the same piece of land. >> before the project, my cows were sick. they did not have enough natural defenses. they were not strong enough to survive during the rainy season. been a more than 65% of bolivia's work forces in agriculture. in communities like this, people work together to raise their cattle. finding a way to keep their cows healthy while making sure the ring for survives is essential -- the rain forest but survives is essential. >> the project will end this year, the organization behind it hopes to expand it nationally and prevent more of the rain forest from being burned to make way for cattle. >> now from the conflict in syria to the new politics of egypt, from protests in greece

to the amazing olympics of london, as the year draws to a close, we'll look back at 2012 and some of the event that changed our world. -- event that changed our world -- events that changed our world. >> that was scary, wasn't it? >> that was scary. >> welcome to syria. >> a farmer goes hungry so his children can eat. they only get one soon, so each must wait his turn. -- one spoon, so each must wait his turn. >> for the spiders, the

liberation has always been their ultimate goal. -- these fighters, the liberation has always been their ultimate goal. >> week meet members of the country's newest rebel army, known as -- we meet members of the country's newest rebel army, known as m23. this is their main base, about 5 kilometers away. >> some of the most isolated communities and tributaries provide the most surprises. the population of the village is 208. we're reminded that environmental decisions made today can impact the next generation.

>> we did find some significant [inaudible] >> ♪ ["gangnam style" playing] ♪ >> these kinds of protests show how the greek government is under pressure, but the government can also use the demonstrations by showing partners in europe there is a risk of social explosion in greece.

>> you can still hear the gunfire being fired over the heads of the protesters, as well as heavy tier grass -- teargas shelling, but the crowd is energetic and young. >> until today, this was an atlantic city, new jersey -- this was the boardwalk in atlantic city, new jersey. hurricane sandy made by a work of it, turning it to rubble -- made light work of it, turning it to rubble. >> in the coming weeks and months, i am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties. >> when adults bury a child, it

goes against the laws of nature. these children will never grow to be adults. >> the air side rent is going on now. we are going to -- air siren is going on now. we are going to duck. there's usually about 20 seconds, 15 seconds. >> the new chinese chief is revealed. >> i designed it. >> the expedition to an island of ice that broke off. >> previously, both factions had

tried hard to avoid such confrontation. the muslim brotherhood and the opposition are urging supporters on to the same streets on the same day. silence was more than likely -- violence was more than likely. >> these rescuers are doing what they can to reach the villagers who are cut off by the damage done by typhoon bopha. >> everything was washed away. people who live here say that there were not expecting this. -- they were not expecting this.

[indiscernible] >> just behind the score, and i can't -- the corner, and i can't peek around it